My Hands
by MakotoHyuuga
Summary: With a cosmic disaster appearing from space and causing the disappearance assumed death of Will's mother and sister, Will is haunted for the rest of his life. He decides to escape from his alcoholic father and head to Lilycove, for a new life.
1. Prologue Part 1: First Steps

Will was only five, but the piercing darkness has stuck in his mind ever since. Perhaps that was why his first partner was a dark-type, perhaps the memory was etched so hard into his brain that it had influenced his life up till now… but more on that later.

He was walking beside his mother, who was carrying his younger sister, to their home in Fortree City. Despite his father's advice to stay in the Pokémon centre in Lilycove, his mother was insistent on returning home that evening. Looking back, Will couldn't quite remember why, but it was something important. His mother was not a Pokémon trainer, which made their late night journey all the more dangerous. They were just about to cross the bridge when a terrible omen befell them. A dark, four legged Pokémon with soul-penetrating red eyes stopped before them. It gave out a cry and ran off.

Seconds later the sky lit up into an eerie crimson colour. It hurt the traveller and her children's eyes, and his sister began to cry. Will's mother took a few steps back, clutching the baby with one arm and holding Will's hand with the other. It all felt like a nightmare to the young boy; he pinched himself just to make sure. An orb was propelled from the sky and went straight under the bridge at an ear-ripping speed. With that, the sky returned to its absent black. The mother cautiously stepped towards the bridge, ready to protect her children in case of any surprises. After a few steps, she ran.

She cried out to Will when she lost grip of his hand. He'd fallen over behind her on the bridge, but she couldn't see. It was darker than dark. The moon was black, no stars twinkled. The orb had taken the light of the sky with it. The tears running from the little boy's eyes blurred his vision, but he could still hear perfectly well. Colours and lights flashed around his eyes. A shrill scream made his blood curl and he struggled to his feet, just in time to see a strange humanoid figure touch his mother and the baby. They vanished. He cried for his mother.

No reply.

He cried again.

No reply.

The figure spotted him, and began to advance towards him. However, a huge roar filled the sky and a giant beam of energy hit the figure. Will was blown back by the impact, but he was caught by a mild-mannered bug-like dragon. It held onto him tight and elevated him above the commotion. He was awake just long enough to notice the humanoid figure disappear into the sky, followed by an enormously long green dragon.

And that was the last time he ever saw his mother and his baby sister. Search parties were out day in day out for weeks including Will and his father. After that, his father turned to drink to help the days pass by, and Will was usually left at home alone. From a young age he learned to look after himself; and eventually the day came when he decided to flee the nest…

Over ten years had passed since that night. Will was now 16. He stood 5 ft 11 and he had dressed himself today in his favourite clothes, because he had no room to pack anything else. He was wearing pale-blue tight jeans (they were more comfortable to walk in than you would imagine), a t-shirt and a yellow/black chequered long sleeved shirt. He'd also put on a black beanie hat that he was bringing for the times he was sure to encounter where the weather was a bit chilly. He was also wearing ankle length leather boots, in case he had to do any rock climbing. (These were also very comfortable to walk in)

Will finished packing his bag by taking a potion out of his draw and stuffing it into the side pocket. He sat down on his bed for the last time, curling his ear-length chocolate brown hair between his thumb and fore finger. His bedroom walls were absolutely plastered with Pokémon posters and drawings he'd done. Drawing was a personal favourite hobby of his. It helped him block out the noise of his dad stumbling around on the lower floors, breaking glasses and vases and all sorts.

His father was not a bad man, but he was a broken man. With the assumed death of his wife and daughter, he'd turned to drink in an attempt to forget. There was a lock installed on his door so he could at least be safe when his father was violently drunk, in the broadest sense of the word "Safe". Will got up, grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, then opened his bedroom door. He scrawled a note on a piece of paper and stuck it on the fridge door. It said "Thanks for everything Dad. I'm off to Lilycove to get the ferry to Petalburg port. I've got money and my Pokénav. Don't call me unless you're sober. Will."

He grabbed the flowers he'd bought earlier from the kitchen table and took one last glance at the kitchen, before advancing towards the door and slamming it behind him. Waiting for him was a girl from the city he'd grown up with. Her name was Lucy, and she had shoulder-length jet-black hair. She was half a foot shorter than Will, and he liked to tease her about this. She was wearing a deep blue hat and a matching blouse, a black skirt and comfortable training shoes. She was taking him to Lilycove, since he had no Pokémon, and she had been training for a few years.

"So, are you ready to go?" she smiled sweetly, fiddling with the bottom of her blouse. Lucy had moved to the outskirts of Fortree from Sinnoh when they were both 8, and her elder brother was one of the top trainers in Sinnoh; his name was Lucas. He had given her an egg to nurture as a leaving present, and it had hatched into a Larvitar, which had become her best friend and in turn her companion.

"Yeah I'm ready." He feigned a smile and they began to walk into route 120. It was a very picturesque walk, completely shrouded in foliage. The grass was tall and was home to many Pokémon, luckily however none of them wanted to bother the two friends. A Tailow had approached them but after being fed some Oran berries by Lucy it soon flew away, chirping victoriously. It wasn't long before they had reached the bridge that crossed over the river that provided such rich quality of plant-life in the area. It was also the bridge that had haunted Will since the age of four.

He laid the flowers down by one of the posts on their side of the bridge and whispered a few words under his breath. Lucy wanted to remain silent during Will's few moments knelt by the post, but something caught her eye. A tall four-legged Pokémon stood at the other end of the bridge. It's fur was white, but it had a black face with a blade-shaped bone protruding from one side of its cheek, a sharp looking black tail and a black diamond on its forehead. As soon as she noticed it, the heavens opened on them, raining profusely as if from nowhere. It growled at the two. Then it charged.

The blade on the side of its head began to glow white, and then it swung its head around. A high pressure blade of wind fired towards the two, but Lucy wasn't having any of it. "Larvitar, I choose you!" She cried as she threw a Pokéball into the air. A white light appeared before her, and then formed into a small, dusty green looking Pokémon. "Larvitar, protect!" The blade of wind stopped right before the much smaller Pokémon and dissipated. The Larvitar smiled with a victorious grin. "Right, now Larvitar, use Iron Head!" Larvitar tilted its head forward slightly, closed its eyes and charged at the slightly confused Pokémon. They collided with a bang, and the mysterious Pokémon flew towards the tree that had almost been the end of Will all those years ago. Then Will grinned.

"Pokéball, go!" he yelled, shortly after pulling a Pokéball from his bag. It hit the dazed Pokémon on the head and fell onto the ground. One wobble. Two wobbles. Three wobbles. Sparks flew out from the ball. Will punched the air in victory and ran across the bridge to collect the Pokéball. He pulled a device out of his pocket and switched it on. As he did so, a mechanical voice began to speak, _"Absol, the disaster Pokémon. It sharply senses even subtle changes in the sky and the land to predict natural disasters. It is a long-lived Pokémon that has a life-span of 100 years."_

"Thanks for that, Lucy." He said as he noticed she was running across the bridge. "This thing has been following me for a while, I've only really seen it once or twice, and I've never been able to keep it still in one place for long enough to actually battle it, let alone catch it." He was grinning from ear to ear as he put the Pokéball back in his bag.

"So, you were using me to capture that thing!?" her voice boomed, causing the Tailow in the trees surrounding the take flight. She was angry. "I thought you wanted my company you big piece of-" but Will cut her off.

"I didn't in a million years expect it to appear with you around me. And besides, you offered." He knelt down again when she made it onto his side of the bridge and petted her Larvitar. "You did great!" The Larvitar smiled in agreement and laughed slightly.

"Larvitar, thank-you. Return." A beam of red light enveloped the Larvitar and it returned back into its capsule. "So, do you still want me to come with you, Mr Bigshot?" She half joked, half scorned.

He nodded, and they continued to walk. The rain subsided only slightly, and they were both drenched. When they came to an area that was completely shielded from the rain by trees they decided to settle down for the night, they needed a rest. Will gathered bits of twigs and leaves in order to start a fire but Lucy stopped him.

"You can't just go making fires in an area like this! If it spreads, it'll damage the whole environment! How are you going to survive? Did you bring a sleeping bag?" She looked at him scornfully, but also with a small glint of sympathy; he had been kept inside his entire life whereas by his age most people had come to at least challenge the elite four by now. Hell, by age 12 her brother was ranked in the top 10 trainers of Sinnoh but… he was special. And Will was still just as naïve as her brother was when he first left.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Yeah, I brought a sleeping bag, its right here." He pulled a warm, emerald coloured sleeping bag out of his backpack and laid it out on the floor. He sat down and searched his bag for a rage candy bar and the Pokéball he had used to capture Absol; he pulled both out too. He stared at the Pokéball for a while before pushing the button release on it. In a white flash Absol appeared, sitting down in front of him on its hind legs. Its red eyes stared straight through Will. They reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite remember what. "Candy bar?" he unwrapped it and offered the sugar-filled bar to the quite wary Absol. It sniffed it slightly, before gently taking a bite. After it swallowed, it made a noise that sounded something like purring. Then it burped.

Lucy heard and giggled. "She likes you Will, despite you having just snatched it from the world its known." She released Larvitar from its Pokéball and brought it over towards the Absol. "Come on, make peace. You do what you gotta do, right Absol?" Absol nodded as it lay down at his feet, closing its eyes. "Bless her, she's tired. S'pose it's been a long day for her."

Will gently stroked Absol's head and down her back cautiously, but she didn't resist him at all. "How do you know she's a she?" He looked at Lucy with an intrigued look. "I mean, she's only be with us for a few hours and you already know…"

"I aspire to be a Pokémon breeder, it's my job to know!" she laughed quietly when she noticed that Larvitar had laid down next to the Absol. "The blade on her head is shorter than normal. So that would make her female, as the male one is a few inches longer. Also, she's a lot calmer than male Absol's. Believe me when I say we would've been in trouble if we'd encountered a male one."

Will stopped stroking her and finished off what was left of the candy bar. He was going to have to find another way to eat when he was on his own; eating nothing but sugar would make him crash. He crawled into his sleeping bag and stared at the natural roof that was entrenching them from the rain. Lucy did the same. "You know, tomorrow." He began. Lucy turned her head to look at him. "You'll have to help me do some training with Absol tomorrow. I don't really know any of the moves it learns or anything…" Absol moaned slightly.

"Well… since I'm such a fantastic breeder in the making, I'll help you." She smiled, "now, get some sleep you. Tomorrow's going to be a long day, we're up as soon as the soon pokes onto that tree stump."

Will's head turned to a tree stump that had two Pokémon sleeping beside it; A Minun and a Plusle. The tree stump was the only place in the clearing that wasn't protected from the rain. His eyes became heavy, and the pitter-patter of the rain was soothing to his tired mind. This was his first night as a free guy. With lots more to come.


	2. Prologue Part 2: Beginnings

"Ouch!" Will cried as an apple collided with his forehead. Lucy was serious about waking him up at the crack of dawn. He rubbed his eyes and noticed that Absol and Larvitar were both eating out of a bowl full of Pokémon food. "Looks like they've forgotten about their fight pretty quickly, huh." Absol growled at Larvitar when it got too adventurous with eating its share of the food however.

The Minun and Plusle were happily dancing around the tree stump they had slept under, their cheeks sparking as they giggled playfully. Rather than fuss about what his hair looked like, he decided it would look atrocious and put his hat on. He grabbed another rage candy bar from his bag and un-wrapped it, then wolfed it down violently. It tasted so sickly, but it was all that he had. "Right!" Lucy called out. "Time for practice. Come on Larvitar! You too Absol." The two suddenly-best friend Pokémon bounded to their respected owners.

"Now, it's time to see what you can do Absol." Absol cried out, she liked the idea of a challenge. "I did some research on my Pokénav while you were asleep, and I'm guessing that there's a few moves that your Absol should know." She threw Will a screwed up piece of paper. He opened it out (it crinkled in his hands) and saw four moves written down in extremely neat hand writing. "Larvitar's tough so it can take whatever you can throw at it! The first one we've seen before but its best you practice, so ask her to use it." Lucy sounded very strict and tutorial. She'd obviously done this before.

"Okay right, so, Absol, use Razor wind!" That was first on the list. The blade beside Absol's face began to glow white, then she swung her head around and the high intensity slice of wind flew at the Larvitar, just like last time. And just like last time, the Larvitar erected a blue shield of energy that stopped the wind directly in its tracks. She wasn't kidding about its toughness.

"Okay, that's the easy part done. Alright, now try the next one."

Next on the list was…Psycho Cut. That didn't sound very friendly. "Okay, Absol, use psycho cut!" Absol made the same movement with her head as with razor wind, except this time her blade was glowing a different colour. It emanated an eerie shade of purple. The psychic energy was released from her blade and flew straight for the Larvitar.

"Alright Larvitar, use Dark Pulse!" The Larvitar clapped its hands together and a wave of black energy washed over the air within several feet of the Larvitar; it only just stopped before hitting Absol. The blade of psychic energy however was nowhere to be seen. The dark wave must have absorbed it. There was so much about Pokémon he didn't know… oh well, no time like the present to learn. Better late than never. "Come on, is that it? Bring on the next move!" Lucy was getting far too into this. "Okay, for this next bit, timing is going to be imperative. Faint Attack is a move that only really works when your opponent is going to attack first. So I'm gonna tell Larvitar to use Thrash, and if you don't get the timing exactly right, Absol will get hurt. Ready?"

"No!"

"Larvitar, use Thrash attack!" Larvitar cried out, its face scrunching into something very intimidating. It charged full pelt at Absol. It was unbelievably fast for its size.

"Okay Absol, use Faint Attack!" Absol nodded, and when Larvitar swung around to hit Absol, she simply wasn't there. Larvitar looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. Larvitar swung its claws around frantically, trying to connect a hit, but no luck. Even will thought that Absol had simply disappeared from existence. People had a habit of doing that in front of him after all.

Seconds after stopped to take a breath, Absol appeared behind Larvitar and scratched it with her sharp claws. Well. It would have. But Larvitar's skin was rock hard. Literally. So Absol just jumped backwards and ran towards Will. Larvitar also retreated back to Lucy, feeling slightly deceived but not quite off balance. The final move on the list spoke for itself and he didn't wait for Lucy this time.

"Absol, quick attack!" at this command, she darted forward at a blistering speed, causing the grass around her to be torn from the ground from the kicks of her powerful feet. Larvitar braced itself, but not with the blue shield. Absol smashed headfirst into Larvitar, causing it to fly straight into a tree behind it. It got up as if nothing had happened. "Is there anything that can harm that Larvitar at all?!"

"Oh sure, he has his weaknesses but Absol doesn't have access to any of them I'm afraid." She pulled a Pokéball off of her belt and pointed it at Larvitar, "you've done well, return!" a red beam shot out from the button and enveloped Larvitar, then pulled it back into its capsule. Will did the same for Absol.

"Well, I think it's time to make a move!" Lucy said as she started to pick up her sleeping bag and roll it up. "You did really well. Absol really likes you, you know." She dropped her satchel and stuffed the shoddily rolled up sleeping bag into it. Will rolled his up neatly – being a clean freak, he felt obliged – and put it into his backpack. He also put the empty candy wrappers in his pocket. They continued walking.

Around midday the rain subsided, although the ground was still very wet. Will had nearly slipped over twice, and Lucy had slipped over once; much to Will's amusement. They took a very 'off the beaten track' route. According to Lucy, it was faster but Will wasn't too sure. Eventually, they walked past a rather grand looking building that Will couldn't remember seeing before. "What's this?" He asked.

"Oh, that's the safari zone. Well, it used to be." She looked up at it, before carrying on walking.

"Oh right, what happened to it? Why was it closed down?"

"It closed down when a bigger one was opened in Johto most of the of the Safari zones closed down. I think the only one left is the Great Marsh, that's in Pastoria in Sinnoh. I can remember it slightly…" because Lucy had moved to Hoenn when she was young, she didn't really remember much about her home continent, and she didn't really talk about it either. All she remembered was that it was an island on the other side of the world and travel there was long and she didn't have the time. Maybe they could return one day, to see her brother and everyone down there…

Around two o'clock the sun had come out, and the two could see the reflection of the clouds in the pools of water on the floor. They decided to stop and dip their feet at a small beach side. Will decided to take his top, jeans and boots off and go swimming, which suited Lucy fine, however she refused to get in with him under the pretence that her bra was ugly. As he was drying out in the sun, he noticed a mountain far out in the distance. It had grey clouds surrounding the top of it and it was very uncomforting.

"Sorry about the twenty questions all day Lucy, but what's that in the horizon?" He sat up and pointed at the mountain.

"Oh, that's Mt. Pyre, it's a final resting place for Pokémon, its a place of mourning, really. I've never been and hope I never have to go." Her voice was very solemn. They stared at the sky for a while before setting off for Lilycove one final time. By the time they arrived, it was around 6 pm.

Lilycove was an absolutely chaotic city. The sound of boat horns filled the air, there were sky scrapers in every direction and people absolutely everywhere. Lucy dragged Will to the shopping department store where she had bought him some proper food and written instructions on how to cook them, how and where to make a fire and how to contain it. All of the sorts of things he was going to need to know. The sun began to set around 8, and they sat on top of the store eating an ice cream. Larvitar and Absol were running around after each other playfully. It was going to be heart breaking for them when they would get separated.

"Are you sure you want to do this alone? I mean, you're so inexperienced and…" Lucy began, "I could always come with you, I mean, my mom would understand, and I could help you for a while, and then go my own way." She broke off towards the end.

"I need to do this for myself. My whole life I've had people around me, helping me through or shunning me because of my past. If I don't learn this now, I never will. Besides, tickets for this cost an arm and a leg, and I don't think your mom would appreciate you billing that on your card. You've already spent enough on me. And besides, I've got Absol with me to look after me." He smiled at her and looked back into the sunset. The boats were coming in slower now, and because of the time Will imagined. He hadn't so much as left Fortree for over ten years, and everything was so new to him.

"I think, it's time for me to go. The earlier I leave, the earlier I get back." Lucy swivelled her body around and jumped onto the tiled floor.

"Don't be stupid! Its nearly night time, it's dangerous to be out at this time of ni-" Will began, but he was interrupted.

"I have a secret base not far from the City. It'll only take me a few hours to get there. Don't worry about me, get yourself into one of the rooms of the hotel before they all fill up, and don't miss your ferry tomorrow morning." Lucy kissed Will's forehead. "Take care of yourself and you have my number. Come on Larvitar." She knelt down and picked him up, and then took one last look at her friend before stepping into the lift. Absol gave a weak cry in goodbye to her new friend. Larvitar grinned as the doors shut. Lucy's head was pointed towards the floor. It was a hard goodbye.

The doors closed and then it was quiet for a while. Absol got up onto the ledge next to Will and rested her head. He rubbed her back and she made her purring noise again. "It's just us two now girl. So, are you looking forward to this?" She looked up at the young man and stared into his eyes before smiling. Then she licked his hand. That was weird. Her tongue was very rasp and warm. The saliva tingled on his arm slightly, it was a strange sensation. But he wasn't complaining.

"Come on then, I guess we should go find ourselves a hotel." She laid her head back onto the ledge, and Will returned her to her Pokéball. Travelling alone was going to get some getting used to. Although, he supposed that with Absol there he wasn't really alone. He walked into his hotel and showed them his boarding card for the ferry – he booked smart. His pass covered him for one night in the hotel right next to the port. As for where all this money came from… He'd found a few gold nuggets while he was walking around by the Weather Institute. He sold them for a lump sum. Without telling his father of course…

His father. He wondered how he would cope with the news. He wondered if he'd even noticed that he was gone. He wondered what his father would do. It was unlikely that he'd call the police and report his absence but, would he come looking for him? All of these things were put out of his mind as soon as he got his room key; his brain went into autopilot: up the elevator; across the corridor; turn right; key in door; open door; drop bag on floor; collapse on bed; sleep.


	3. Part One: The SS Tidal

Will woke up as soon as the dawn broke through his window. Cursing Lucy for waking him up so early yesterday, he struggled to his feet. He took out some of the traveller's spray he'd picked up in Fortree and sprayed his clothes to clean them, then left them to try in front of the window¹. He waddled to the shower and washed himself, got out and brushed his teeth. He released Absol from her Pokéball, who stretched and then jumped on top of the bed – and slept some more.

Will put on his now clean clothes and threw his bag over his shoulder; he couldn't be bothered to put it on properly. He threw his hat over the top to hide his wet hair and made his way downstairs for the included breakfast. He filled himself up on sausages, eggs and beans. Best breakfast he'd had in a while. He fed some of the scraps to Absol, who didn't seem content by just eating her own food when there was so much delicious smelling human food around.

With both of them content and satisfyingly stuffed, Absol returned to her capsule and Will made his way to the port. His ferry was a lot bigger than he expected it to be, but he made it there early so there wasn't a lot of queuing to be done. He was on bored within an hour. The receptionist smiled sweetly at him as she assigned him a key card. "Due to the volume of people that have booked on this ferry, I am afraid that you will have to share a room with someone. If this is an inconvenience to you, and If you have any problems with this do not hesitate to let us know. Enjoy your voyage on the SS. Tidal."

Sharing a room. That could be… interesting. He hoped that it was with a guy. He would've felt too uncomfortable sharing with a girl, and she would have completely hogged the bathroom. Still, sharing a room with a complete stranger would be sufficiently awkward in the first place. However, at least he would be able to make a friend, rather than spending three days in solitude.

He was in room 106 on Deck A. At least he was high up, he could get a good view out of the window. Will went to use the escalator, but it was completely filled with people's luggage, so he had to scale 10 floors of stairs. The joys. When he got to the top (huffing and puffing sufficiently) he let Absol have a bit of a stretch. He knocked the door. No reply. He knocked again, asking "Hello?" this time. No reply. Will swiped his card and pushed the door open. Upon scanning the room, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It was fairly big (It should have been for the price he paid) and he had his own chest of drawers and most importantly – his own bed.

He chucked his bag onto the bed and sat down. The window was situated perfectly. That was when he noticed that his roommate was already there; not physically, but his bag and Pokéballs were on the bed. So they must have been in…

The bathroom door clicked open, and his roommate walked out in nothing but a towel.

"Oh." His roommate was tall and had shoulder length dark hair. His body was well defined and his skin looked smooth. His hair was damp from the shower, as you would expect and his eyes were a sapphire blue. "I didn't hear you come in. My name's Kurt, nice to meet you."

"Hey, I'm Will. So were you already here before the Ferry arrived in Lilycove then?" Will asked spontaneously, trying desperately to bury the awkwardness of the situation.

"Yeah, I got on at Mossdeep." Will nodded; he had no idea where that was. Luckily, Kurt elaborated. "It's an Island to the east of here, its where I come from. So how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen. I've just left an… explosive house hold. Well… escaped. So I'm going to Petalburg… Where're you bound?"

"I'm going to Petalburg too. I live in Mossdeep, so I was just visiting, taking a break. I'm going to Petalburg to get my fifth badge from the Pokémon gym there. What're you there for?" By this point, Kurt had taken some underwear and a t-shirt and gone into the bathroom, but he'd left the door open. "Don't worry, I'm still listening."

"Well, I'm just making a pit stop really. Gonna stock up and make my way to Rustboro from there." Will said. "I'm only just starting my journey, so it seems like a good place to start."

Kurt returned now, in his boxers and the t-shirt he had just grabbed. He must have been at least 6 ft 2, his head was nearly touching the roof of the cabin. "Oh, fair enough. So where do you come from?"

Will liked this; someone who was generally interested. Kurt sat on the bed opposite him and began curling his hair between his thumb and forefinger. Just like Will did. "I'm from Mauville originally, but I've lived in Fortree for as long as I can remember. Do you know how to get from Petalburg to Rustboro? I didn't really do much research on the whole thing, just kinda leapt out of the door blindly…"

"The best way to go is through Petalburg forest. I'd advise spending a day in Petalburg beforehand though. Petalburg forest is like a gigantic maze and it'll take you at least a day to manoeuvre it, so it's best to try and get it done over one day. You could always stick around with me for a bit and I could take you there? I don't mind."

They sat on the beds getting to know each other for quite a few hours. Will quite liked the idea of sharing a room with a guy that was this easy to get along with. They didn't even notice when the ship left port, nor did their minds hadn't even turned to Pokémon for quite a while, and it didn't until there was an announcement made on the speakers.

"Attention all passengers, on the final day of the voyage there will be a Pokémon tournament held to give trainers a chance to show off their Pokémon. Registration is possible at any time between now and tomorrow night. Thank you for listening and we hope to see you competing. Dinner will be served in both restaurants in half an hour. Have a pleasant evening." And with that, the announcement was over.

"We'd better leave now, the restaurants get pretty packed. It's best to grab a table with a nice view straight away." Kurt grabbed a pair of jeans and slid them on, and put on some polka dot slippers. "Hey, gotta have some slippers with you, keep you warm and whatnot! Oh, also it'll be best to bring your Pokémon with you, they all get fed free too." Will nodded. He grabbed a single Pokéball out of his bag and walked towards the door. "Do you have your room key? Because I don't want to locked out and end up sleeping in the hallway…"

"Don't worry!" Will half said, half laughed. "I'm organised, I've got my key right here!" he pulled a shiny silver key out of his pocket. For the price he paid he expected them to be electronic swipe cards, but the old fashioned key was all good too. "So are you ready?"

"Yeah I'm all good." Kurt slipped on a belt that had 4 Pokéballs in; Will was curious as to what they contained, but guessed that he would find out soon enough. They both went down the stairs (As usual, the elevator was in use), but at least it was only down to the eighth floor. They got a nice table on the balcony – Kurt had told Will his Pokémon would need a lot of space. This only intrigued Will more. As soon as they were comfortable, Kurt let his Pokémon out of their capsules.

They were Pokémon that were all new to Will in terms of seeing them in person. He had a Marshtomp that seemed particularly cheeky, a female Snorunt that was quite shy; the exact opposite to the boisterous and outgoing Marshtomp. Part of his odd bunch was also a Vibrava, a Pokémon which the young man had never even heard of before. Kurt explained that it was the pre-evolved form of Flygon however, the Pokémon that had saved him as a small child from being smushed as a result of the shockwave from the gigantic energy wave... His final Pokémon was a one that Will thought was only a legend; it was a Manaphy.

"I thought that they were just a legend, that they had become extinct?" The teen had questioned, but was answered with...

"I have a friend who's a Pokémon ranger in the Fiore region, and they found this egg on the shores. It wouldn't hatch over there, so he sent it to me and voila." was the reply. Manaphy got on particularly well with Absol, as they were both quite sombre yet playful.

They sat in the restaurant with their plates empty for quite a while, just talking about life experiences. Kurt had a lot to say, he'd lead a much more interesting life than Will had. When the topic of his childhood came up however, Will simply dismissed it, saying it was uneventful and uninteresting. He didn't feel ready to talk about it yet, he hadn't spoken to anyone else about it besides his father and Lucy even after all of these years.

Once all of the Pokémon had started to fall asleep on the deck, they decided it was time to go to bed. They returned all of their partners to their Pokéballs and made their way back to the cabin, drearily and uncomfortably full. There was an awkward moment however that confused Will as to the intentions of Kurt. After the door was unlocked, they both reached for the handle at the same time. Their hand's touched but they didn't move straight away, the touched lingered for a few seconds. Then they let go.

Will pushed it to the side of his mind and opened the door, undressed in the bathroom and went to bed in his underwear. He stared at the moon for a few moments before he began to drift away.

The dream that night was a strange one. Will was in the middle of a stadium, battling with a trainer who's face he couldn't make out. It was someone he knew, and yet someone he had never met. It didn't bode very well either; the person he was battling had a Phanpy, and he was using Absol to battle it…

"Absol, use Quick Attack!" He cried. Absol began to charge forward at a blistering pace, but the Phanpy was ready, and so was its trainer.

"Phanpy, use roll out!" The Phanpy curled up and charged forward in a hardened ball. The two Pokémon crashed into each other, sending them both flying.

"Faint attack!" Will ordered. Absol disappeared, invisible. The Phanpy simple closed its eyes and shards of ice appeared around it. She materialised behind it, but it was already waiting for her. It was as if this trainer had spent their entire life studying Absol's battle techniques, because it knew every trick – and how to counter it. As she became visible again, the Ice Shards hit her one at a time, three of them. Since when could Phanpy learn Ice shard!? Those thoughts were futile however, as Phanpy beat Absol into submission with her feeble defences and the sharp shards of ice.

Will ran to his injured Pokémon's side with a potion and sprayed her, then held her in his arm. "You did good Absol, well done." He said as he stroked her head. And that's where the dream ended.


	4. Part One: Cruising on through

Once again, Will was woken up by the morning dawn breaking through the window and lighting the room up with its vibrant din. As he opened his eyes, he saw that Kurt was fast asleep in his bed. Snoring. Quite loudly. Will wondered how he'd slept through that, but imagined that he must have been the first to fall asleep. Will got up and into the shower (making sure to dress himself in the bathroom as to avoid the awkwardness of walking into the room with nothing but a towel on), upon returning to the room there was a note written and blue-tacked onto the mirror between the two beds; _"Gone to get the table, see you down there. Pokémon aren't allowed at breakfast so leave Absol up here. Kurt x"_

The kiss was unnecessary. Oh well. After drying his hair the young teen left the room (his key securely in his pocket) and managed to get himself into the elevator. For two floors. Seemed kind of pointless, but oh well.

The Restaurant was set out completely different today. There was a buffet in the middle with everything on it, and it all looked delicious. This cruise line really didn't do things by halves! Breakfast was fairly quiet; everyone just came down to collect food for their Pokémon. It seemed strange that they weren't allowed Pokémon at breakfast but Will just assumed it was because people didn't want fur and feathers in the buffet.

Kurt also seemed a bit distant today, however, he still made conversation. "So, is this your first time on a cruise liner like this?" His blue eyes looked straight into Will; he couldn't look away.

"Yeah… I've pretty much led a life of isolation. I've spent my whole life in and around Fortree. It's all a bit pathetic really…" Will broke off and stared at the sun. It was a very warm day and the sky was completely clear. Something Will hadn't seen very often, as it was always raining or cloudy in Fortree because of the Weather Institute and all of their experiments with the environment.

"So, how did you afford this trip?" Kurt asked, taking a sip of the orange juice in his glass.

"I found gold nuggets with a dowsing machine my friend from Sinnoh gave me. I got quite a large collection of them and sold them, I've got a bit of money behind me. Won't last long though… Hey, are you gonna enter the tournament?" this was an obvious attempt to change the conversation; the young man wasn't a fan of talking about himself. It was all a bit bleak and he was running away from it in the first place.

"Of course! In fact, I was gonna go and register now. Are you done? We could go register together." Will nodded. They both got up, pushed their chairs under the table and left. Luckily, they managed to get into the elevator on its way down to the 3rd floor (this was where the registration counter was). As far as things go, the elevator was pretty packed and both of the young men felt quite claustrophobic. Their hands touched again for a fraction of a second, however this time they both smiled at each other awkwardly and folded their arms.

Ding.

They couldn't wait to get off of the elevator. It was too awkwardly close for Will. The queue for the sign-up sheet wasn't very long, everyone must have signed up last night as soon as the announcement was read out. Kurt signed up with his Marshtomp and took a number, and Will with Absol (he didn't have much choice) and took a number himself.

After signing up Will and Absol took a stroll around the boat and let Kurt do his own thing. The two partners stood at the highest passenger-accessible point on the boat and looked out into the horizon. The shore of Hoenn was just about visible. He was so far away from home right now, it really didn't come to him until he saw how tiny the great continent was to him right now.

There was a crashing noise. The boat halted to a stop, almost throwing Will over the barrier and Absol nearly rolled overboard. A siren began to ring, it sounded like a fire alarm. A screeching noise was followed by the voice of the boat's captain; "Nobody panic, everything is fine. Please return to your rooms and lock them from the inside, do not open them until you are told otherwise by me and only me." Naturally, the phrase "nobody panic" caused an instant bedlam on the ship. Women pulled their children along, men ran around looking for their wives, teenagers complained and cursed loudly as they ran back to their rooms.

Will however, had no intention of paying attention to the captain. During this panic, he had noticed that a three water Pokémon had come up towards the side of the boat. Powerful ones too: a Gyarados; a Tentacruel and a Milotic. He wasn't particularly good with habitats, but he knew that Milotic was a freshwater Pokémon and so they must be under attack. "Under attack. Great." It didn't seem like anything was going to go particularly well for Will, now or ever in life. The LEAST he could do was personally meet the people who were operating an invasion of a cruise liner with absolutely nothing of value on it. Besides Pokémon. And people's belongings.

He ran against the crowd with Absol following closely behind. As he came to a corner, he stayed behind it in order to eavesdrop into a conversation. The teen took a quick peek at who it was coming from; two people in costumes; ridiculous costumes. Their garments were as green as the woodlands of Fortree and they all had the same black caps on covering their faces and hiding their hair. 'Oh how fantastic' thought Will, 'a syndicate group. As if there weren't enough in the world.' Will took another quick glance, it was quite obvious now that one was male and the other female.

"Are you sure Deoxys came this way?" the first said. It was the male, and from the sound of his voice, he wasn't much older than Will. Maybe he was Kurt's age. For a second, Will considered it could be Kurt, but this man was much too lanky to be Kurt.

"I didn't see it, but what Commander Beth says goes. You know that." The female replied. There seemed to be more authority in her voice than in the males, and she stood slightly taller than him, although it may have been her boots.

'What was Deoxys?' Was the only thought that had really stuck in his mind from the conversation. But of course, despite every section of his brain telling him otherwise, he decided to jump in front of them both and scream "Surprise!"

Both grunts jumped before reaching for a Pokéball in their belt. The male got there first and ordered "Get back and make sure things are going smoothly in the captain's control room. I'll handle things here." The female grunt nodded, smirked at Will, and ran off. Before the young man had a chance to chase after her, the grunt called out his Pokémon. "Croagunk, get rid of him!"

Within seconds of bursting from its Pokéball, the frog fired a ball of poison at the trainer. However, Absol was there. She swung her head around and fired a blade of wind at the ball, causing it to disperse and splat onto the walls, leaving a vile smell. "Absol, use Psycho Cut!" She swung her head again, this time releasing a blade of purple energy that collided powerfully with Croagunk, causing it to fly back into its trainer. They both slammed into the wall of the narrow hallway behind them and sliding to the ground, unconscious.

Rather than pay attention to that, Will and Absol continued to run through the corridor. They didn't encounter much resistance; it seems that delaying him had caused the rest to advance to the captains control room. He burst through a pair of double doors, but was unprepared for the sight that he was about to encounter.

He was in the stadium. Its roof was tall, and light was flooding in from stain glass windows that had images of legendary Pokémon ornately decorated onto them; Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos, Ho-Oh and Lugia, Entei, Raiku and Suicune as well as many he didn't recognise. The floor was a golden-brown colour, and had the outline of a Pokéball coloured in white painted on the surface. There were majestic pillars, some intentionally broken in order to create a sense of place in the stadium. He knew instantly where it was simulating; Spear Pillar.

On the other side of the stadium was a girl. She was at most 12, and she was wearing the same uniform as the other crones that Will had met, but there some something intimidating about her. Her shadow was split either side of her because of the stain glass lights that were flooding the room with light, and she had a glove made of pure gold on one arm. She took several paces forward towards Will, before laughing.

"You're it? It's just you? You're alone? You're the one my grunts are in such a fluster over? Oh dear oh dear. I can tell by looking at you, you've barely fled the nest. That poor Absol, I feel so sorry for her. For her having to follow an inexperienced trainer like you around because she has no choice." Her hair was down to her waist in length, curly and a bronzed shade of brown. She laughed, and pulled a Pokéball off her belt with her gloved hand. "This should only take a minute or two." She threw her Pokéball into the air. "Go, Banette!"

The Pokéball was different to any Will had seen before. It was green, and had black lines that stretched from the poles of top and bottom that curved before meeting the middle. And not just that; instead of the Pokémon emerging in a white light, it came from an eerie black energy that was coated by a purple glow. The Pokémon that emerged was somewhat of a poltergeist.

It looked like nothing more than a pillowcase. It had a zip for a mouth, and its eyes were piercing and red. But neither Will nor Absol would let that throw them off. Absol jumped right into the Ghost's line of sight. The two glared at each other before Banette made a move.

It gathered black energy in its hand before firing it off in Absol's direction. Absol dodged it quickly, and ran behind the Banette. It lifted its right foreleg up and its claws began to emanate a black energy. Absol quickly swiped the ghost's back with her energy filled claws, which left a black line briefly in the air before dissipating. What was that move? She'd never used it previously... Will had so much to learn about his partner, he barely knew her.

Banette ran around clutching its back and shrieking, the zip now open. It stopped suddenly, and laughed a painfully shrill laugh. The girl was also laughing. "Banette, use Thunderbolt!" Both Absol and Will gasped in surprise as bolts of yellow thunder discharged from the ghost's body like tendrils. Absol dodged again.

"Absol, finish it off with Faint Attack!" she nodded and vanished. The Banette scanned the room frantically; spinning around so quickly that it fell over. Absol reappeared behind it and kicked it with her muscular hind legs. The exhausted ghost gave a weak cry and fell to the ground in front of the trainer. She took the Pokéball from her belt and returned the Banette to it, grunting as she did so.

This time, she replaced the menacing looking Pokéball with a much more recognisable Pokéball; a great ball. "Teach this kid a lesson, go!" This time, the aura that escaped from the great ball was tinted slightly blue. A Pokémon began to form from the light. It was small and blue, that was all Will could make out first. Then shapes began to form. It had long, floppy ears, and a long trunk. It gave out a cry. "Phanpy, now it's your turn!"

Will was thrust into a sudden world of disbelief. This was exactly the moment he had dreamt about the night before. A Pokémon battle, in a stadium, with someone he didn't know, using a Phanpy. Absol braced herself. It was almost as if she could tell what was about to happen. "Absol, keep yourself ready!" However, the girl wasn't waiting around for anything.

"Phanpy, use Seed Bomb!" The tiny elephant lifted its trunk up and aimed it at Absol. The end of its trunk began to glow green, and then it fired a ball of green energy at Absol. In midair the ball solidified into a seed that was making a whizzing noise.

"Absol, stop it with Psycho Cut!" Absol swiped at the air with its blade, sending the blade of purple energy flying at the seed. The two crashed into each other and there was an almighty explosion. Both Pokémon were propelled out of the smoke; Absol landed on its feet a few inches before Will, and Phanpy landed on its side before the girl.

"Come on Phanpy, get up and use Rollout!" the Phanpy curled up into a ball and rolled full pelt at the disaster Pokémon. 'Here we go.' Thought Will.

Then it dawned to Will. He didn't have to conform to his dream. He knew what she was going to do, he could win. "Absol! Use Double Team!" He had no idea where that instruction had come from. Absol began to divide herself into copies and run around the pitch in circles. "Now, use Faint Attack!" All of the copies as well as the original disappeared. Phanpy stopped rolling within seconds of hearing the commands from Will and closed its eyes. The shards of Ice began to float around it.

"Now Phanpy, use Ice Shard!" The Ice Shards dispersed at an almost invisible speed. In every direction, the bits of ice Collided, causing the copies of Absol to reappear briefly and then disappear. A shard also struck the original. As she skidded backwards, she hit Will. The partners both fell to the floor, panting.

"I told you. Pathetic. Well done Phanpy!" The Phanpy let out a cry in victory.

A familiar voice boomed from behind Will that shocked him. "Don't think you're getting away this easily!" It was Kurt. A Pokéball flew over Will's head and released a Pokémon in front of him in protection. The white light formed into a triangular shape – it was Snorunt.

The girl grunted and ordered her Pokémon to use Ancient Power. Rocks from the ground floated up around it and hovered around the Phanpy for a few seconds, before flying at the shivering Pokémon. "Snorunt, use protect!" A blue barrier erected in front of the Snorunt, stopping all of the rocks and resulting in them falling back to the ground. "Right, now Snorunt, use Ice Beam!"

Phanpy was ordered to move, but it wasn't fast enough. The beam of ice hit the poor Pokémon, encasing it in a wall of ice. The ice shattered and Phanpy fell to the floor. "Phanpy, return." She took out the great ball and returned the baby elephant to its capsule. "Two against one isn't fair! I beat you, you snivelling little twit!" for that moment, a hint of childishness was heard in her voice. She quickly pulled herself together however, and spoke into a watch on her un-gloved wrist. "Everyone, we're leaving here! There is no evidence that Deoxys was on this boat. Let's leave." She smirked and drew a glass ball from her pocket. "My name is Commander Bethany. If you ever encounter me again, you will not be so lucky as to escape. Remember this; Team Sky never forgets the face that opposes us. You have been warned." She dropped the smoke ball and a cloud of thick black smoke quickly washed over the Stadium.

As it dispersed, the air became less thick and the two friend's vision slowly returned. The girl and her grunts however, had gone without a trace through one of the windows; Will deduced this from the fact one of the windows had developed a giant person shaped gap.

Will stroked Absol's back before returning her to her Pokéball for rest. Kurt sat down next to him and brushed the floored teen's hair behind his ear. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Will knocked Kurt's hand away.

"I'm fine, really, please stop fussing." He stood up and brushed the fine white fur from his jeans. "You got here just in time. Thank-you, I was scared for a moment."

"I watched the battle from the door for a little while. You did pretty well considering she was an elite member of Team Sky and you're a novice. You were doing so well, until you lost. That Phanpy is special, it's been bred especially for her. No normal Phanpy can use Seed Bomb, nor Ice Shard." Will had gathered this.

"Look, can we just go back to the room for a bit? I need to have a shower and sit down."

"Sure, of course."

After his shower, Will and Kurt went down for dinner, taking the Pokémon with them as usual. They stayed in the restaurant until the harsh sun had set and the cool, sea breeze had begun to replace it. The sky was full of stars tonight, and there was a full moon. It was surely a sight to behold, with the pale light of the distant planets twinkling in the sea beneath them. The conversation had turned slightly controversial at this point.

"So, Will… What's your opinion on same sex relationships?"

Will had never really thought about it before. He didn't think it was wrong, but he'd never been able to see himself in a same sex relationship. That was before this cruise. It was not safe for him to assume that he was attracted to Kurt. He was strong and proud, yet he was so soft and sensitive on the inside. He was like a big panda. Except thinner. _Bollocks, I've forgotten to answer!_

"Nothing wrong with them at all. In fact- " his voice trailed off. He didn't want to seem too desperate, especially having known this guy for little over a day. Maybe he was just confused; after all, Kurt was the first male company he'd really had in since… well… ever. He wasn't even sure that Kurt felt the same.

"In fact what? Never mind." The dark-haired man lifted his glass, took a sip and set it back on the table. He looked out towards what would have been the horizon briefly, and then turned back to Will with a smirk on his face. "If I were to suggest pushing the beds together tonight, what would your reaction be?"

The young man was stunned for a second. _Pushing the beds together? Did that mean he wanted sex? What else could it mean? _"What do you mean by that, because I mean I'm not really-"

"I don't mean sex or anything like that. I mean just… you know, just too… I don't know really, I thought it'd be nice if we could have a bit of a…It was a stupid idea, forget I said anything."

"Okay…" an idea popped into Will's mind. "Well I'm going back to the room, so I'll see you later."

After his shower, Will and Kurt went down for dinner, taking the Pokémon with them as usual. They stayed in the restaurant until the harsh sun had set and the cool, sea breeze had begun to replace it. The sky was full of stars tonight, and there was a full moon. It was surely a sight to behold, with the pale light of the distant planets twinkling in the sea beneath them. The conversation had turned slightly controversial at this point.

"So, Will… What's your opinion on same sex relationships?"

Will had never really thought about it before. He didn't think it was wrong, but he'd never been able to see himself in a same sex relationship. That was before this cruise. It was not safe for him to assume that he was attracted to Kurt. He was strong and proud, yet he was so soft and sensitive on the inside. He was like a big panda. Except thinner. _Bollocks, I've forgotten to answer!_

"Nothing wrong with them at all. In fact- " his voice trailed off. He didn't want to seem too desperate, especially having known this guy for little over a day. Maybe he was just confused; after all, Kurt was the first male company he'd really had in since… well… ever. He wasn't even sure that Kurt felt the same.

"In fact what? Never mind." The dark-haired man lifted his glass, took a sip and set it back on the table. He looked out towards what would have been the horizon briefly, and then turned back to Will with a smirk on his face. "If I were to suggest pushing the beds together tonight, what would your reaction be?"

The young man was stunned for a second. _Pushing the beds together? Did that mean he wanted sex? What else could it mean? _"What do you mean by that, because I mean I'm not really-"

"I don't mean sex or anything like that. I mean just… you know, just too… I don't know really, I thought it'd be nice if we could have a bit of a…It was a stupid idea, forget I said anything."

"Okay…" an idea popped into Will's mind. "Well I'm going back to the room, so I'll see you later."

When will returned to the room, he got his bed and pulled it towards the opposite side of the wall; towards Kurt's bed. He jumped on top of his bed (hitting his head on the ceiling in the process. He seemed to forget that he was in a small cabin over his excitement and anxiety) and down to the other side, then began to push his bed towards Kurt's. He went into the bathroom and got himself ready for bed; brushed his teeth and combed his hair etc. As he emerged from the bathroom Kurt was stood in the middle of the room. _Damn this soundproof bathroom door. _

"So, is it safe to assume this is your reaction to pushing the beds together?" He was grinning ear to ear, his sapphire eyes glistening with glee. They both stepped into each other and embraced quietly. Kurt whispered into Will's ear – "I'm so glad I found you." They released each other and Kurt stepped into the bathroom to get undressed as usual. Will also did the same, removing his shirt and t-shirt, as well as his boots and jeans. Before he had chance to put on any pyjama bottoms, Kurt surfaced from the bathroom. In nothing but his underwear.

He stood there grinning, before advancing on Will again. This time, instead of just hugging him, he pulled him onto the beds. There they lay, embracing. If Will had had a say in this, the moment would have lasted forever. They broke apart momentarily in order to get under the quilt, then quickly returning to each other again. Their lips lingered awkwardly close to each other before meeting.

Kurt's lips were rough and cracked, which is in contrast to Will's; they were fresh and smooth. Obviously clear evidence that he had a lot of life to experience to look forward to. The more dominant male had begun to run the fingers of his right and up and down Will's spin, and with the others was curling the hair at the back of his head. Both of Will's hands were on the man's chest, he wasn't really sure what else to do with them.

As Kurt's hands began to move a bit further south, Will pulled away. Kurt understood, and pulled his friend's head into his chest and held him. They stayed that way for the rest of the night. There was another reason for Will pushing the beds together this way – the sunlight wouldn't wake him up in the moring.


	5. Part One: A New Friend

When Will awoke Kurt was already gone. The teen dressed himself and looked out of the window briefly, staring at the sky. The sky was somewhat more sorrowful than it had been the past two days, with grey clouds being illuminated by the feeble attempts of the hidden golden sphere behind them. It was raining too. The Pokémon of the sea must have been sad.

He stumbled down the stairs, having not fully woken up (half way down, he turned back up the stairs because he had forgotten to lock the cabin door) he wasn't really sure of his footing. He made his way to the restaurant. Kurt was still sat outside, but under a large umbrella, striped horizontally and alternating in blue, red and black. Snorunt was munching happily under the dry table, whilst Marshtomp and Manaphy were dancing around joyfully in the result of the opened heavens. Vibrava was curled up - as best as an insect-like creature such as itself could – under the table next to Snorunt, groaning if any water sploshed onto it. Being ground-type it obviously had a vendetta against water.

Will let Absol out of her Pokéball. She edged cautiously towards the rain before jumping into it briefly, only to return several seconds later and shake her fur, soaking everything within a 2 metre radius of her. Vibrava was particularly bemused. The two hadn't said much to each other, there wasn't really much need for it. Will didn't eat breakfast, much to his friend's dismay. He wasn't hungry, and he was sure he would pay for it later but oh well.

The two decided, after breakfast, that they would go to see what was going on about the tournament; because of Team Sky it had been left in a bit of a mess and there was talk that the tournament had been cancelled.

At the front desk, the secretary was completely surrounded by an army of angry Pokémon trainers. "I'm sorry, there is nothing we can do! The result of the invasion yesterday has damaged the coliseum, it is not safe for anyone, Pokémon or trainer. The Tournament will have to be cancelled." Her voice was frantic as the voices began to get louder. The commotion attracted plenty of attention, and especially the attention of someone who was intent on peace.

There was an ear wrenching screech as an enormous blue Pokémon appeared from a Pokéball. It wasn't like anything Will had ever seen and by the look on Kurt's face, his too. The Pokémon had a yellow cross over its face and stood on four almighty legs. It was electric blue and the surface was impeccably shiny, it reflected its surroundings perfectly. Everyone turned to face the trainer and instantly calmed down, there was an air of intimidation about him.

He was tall and his hair was silver. He wore a suit, and a pretty expensive looking one at that. He looked extremely regal. Almost like royalty. His eyes were the colour of sapphires. Will may not have been able to recognise the Pokémon but he most certainly recognised the trainer. It was Steven Stone, the son of the president of the Devon Company. Of course people would be frightened of him. The Devon Company basically owned the Hoenn region; they were responsible for all technological research and development.

"This will desist immediately." His deep voice boomed throughout the reception and everything fell dead silent. "In case you didn't notice this vessel was attacked yesterday by a terrorist organisation and until a full investigation of the coliseum takes place everything planned therein is cancelled. Now are they any more objections, or would it be possible for you to return to your pleasure cruise in peace?" The ground mumbled and began to slowly dissipate. Will and Kurt were on their way too. Well, they were. "You two, I must have a word with you." The tall man called to them after returning the Pokémon to its Pokéball.

They both turned around, instantly knowing what they were needed for. Or at least what they thought. Before long it was just Steven, Will, Kurt and the secretary, who had quickly begun to busy herself with paperwork on her desk and wasn't paying attention to the three men. "You two were the ones who combated the terrorists weren't you?" they nodded "I'm here on behalf of the police, to save grace for them. Could you please give me a description of what they were like and how they acted?"

Will began. "They're a newly founded syndicate I think. A commander was on the ship with them. Her name was Bethany, and she was very young."

Kurt continued. "They wore ridiculous green outfits, and black hats. The regular goons weren't anything particularly special, but the commander had particularly powerful Pokémon. She certainly knew what she was doing. Her strongest Pokémon was still in its pre-evolved form and it was more powerful than any Pokémon of its species that I have ever seen."

"They seemed to be ranked by what they were wearing. The commander had a glove made entirely of gold, or something like it, and despite being at least ten years younger than the other grunts they obeyed her every command." Will continued, remembering that he had heard the grunt saying 'what Commander Bethany says goes'.

Steven massaged his lip with the bottom joint of his index finger and rubbed his chin with his thumb. He looked somewhat distant for a few seconds and then regained his sense of self. He smiled. "Thank you, you've been a great help. I will continue my investigation now. Please take these as a token of my gratitude." He pulled two ornately wound pouches from his pocket and thrust them at the befuddled friends. He was gone before they even had chance to protest.

at the befuddled friends. He was gone before they even had chance to protest.

They raced back to the room; hiding the bags in their pocket should anyone see them and grow criminally curious. They both jumped onto the bed and withdrew the bags. Upon closer inspection the bags were made of crimson velvet, which was drawn together close to the tope by a silken-rope that was as golden as the afternoon sun. They carefully untied the rope, trying as hard as they could not to fray the delicate chords. Inside were several rare stones and objects; they each had four different ones.

Will's consisted of: a small chunk of rock that was ice cold; a turquoise stone with a white, thin star pattern exploding from the middle; a crescent moon shaped stone that resembled a claw and a translucent stone with a weak light shining from the middle. Whereas Kurt's was made up of a hard grey stone with a leaf on the front, a clear blue stone with bubbles trapped inside, a small yellow box with a plug socket in the middle and a cylinder made of metal. It took them both a while to take in what they'd been given. People spend years searching for these things.

"We should combat evil syndicates more often if this is the sort of reward we get!" Kurt joked, eyeing up Will's reward before putting away his own. "So what do you wanna do today? Since the contests off thanks to the police. I think I'm gonna head down to the bar and have a drink. You coming?"

"I can't, I'm not old enough to drink." Will replied, coldly. The word 'bar' reminded him of his father, something he did not particularly want to think about. "I think I'm just gonna head off to the top deck. It's the only place we get signal on this boat and I've got to call a few people… and check my Pokénav in case anyone's tried to call me." The last part was more wishful thinking than an actual plan. "So I'll see you later. I'll grab the table if you want."

"Sounds good. Right, see you later." They both parted their ways for the day.

Up on the deck was miserable. It was raining and the sky was black and thick with thunder. Will sat under a parasol and let Absol out of her Pokéball, pondering the gifts he'd received from Steven. "So, Absol. What do you think all of that stuff does? Will obviously knew, but I have no idea." She looked straight at him with her rubies and shook her head. She understood him better than he thought.

Will pulled his Pokénav out from his pocket and checked it. No new messages. How boring. He scrolled through his contacts and found Lucy. He pressed call and pressed the Pokénav against his ear.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded so soft in his ear. It'd only been a few days and he missed her already. "Hello Will, how're you getting on?"

"I'm fine thanks," he said, "just thought I'd check how things were on your end. Are you back in Fortree yet?" this was his way of asking how his father had taken his escape. It can't have been that painful to him. He hadn't called.

"Things are good, no, I didn't go back. I didn't want to face things and… I had a better offer anyway." Her voice went a bit deeper when she said this. "I heard your boat was attacked by that insane syndicate group. Were you scared? Did you hide?"

"Actually, I drove them off with the help of a friend." Lie. He'd completely lost his cool and had his ass kicked. "What was the better offer?"

"You'll find out soon enough." There was a voice in the background, one he didn't recognise. "I'll see you later Will, all the best, stay safe!" beep beep beep. She hung up.

He couldn't help but wonder about the abrupt end to their conversation and the better offer. Will didn't linger on it for too long however, he had other things on his mind. Firstly, what was this Deoxys? It sounded like the name of a Pokémon, but not one he'd ever heard of before. Perhaps he'd ask around when he got to Petalburg, someone was bound to know, the city was big enough.

It wasn't long before the boat found its way to the port. The journey had been much more eventful than Will had expected it to be, but at least he had got some training in and he had learned a lot about Absol as well as himself. He got his things together and noticed that there was a note on the bathroom door. 'Dear Will, it's been fantastic to get to know you over this boat trip. Here's my number, give me a text as soon as you can and don't be afraid to call me at whatever hour at night you like. I'm always glad for the company. See you soon hopefully, Kurt xx". Will still couldn't get over how appalling Kurt's hand writing was, but he sent Kurt a brief text and got out of the room.

Petalburg was a huge city, almost as big as Lilycove, and just as lively. The sun was hidden behind finely woven cotton set of clouds. Will figured that - as it was just after mid day - he would look around the city for a while and spend the rest of the night in a hotel room. Maybe he would explore the route to the east, he didn't know yet. He flashed his ticket to the steward on his way out and took walked across the bridge now connected the behemoth of a boat to the land.

The city was full to the brim with trainers and stores, but there was only one place on Kurt's mind right now; the Pokémon centre. He took a map from a kiosk by the boat and studied it for a while. It was full of triangles, squares and arrows. It was poorly devised to the say the least, and extremely confusing. The teen figured it would just be easier to explore the city himself and figure out all of the land marks.

A soothing sea breeze had picked up in the time since his arrival, and its light, brisk touch lightly tickled the short stubble on the side of Will's face. 'Crap,' he thought 'I've forgotten to shave!' although there wasn't much he could do about that right now. Will bought an ice cream at the end of the pier and dangled his feet over the edge. He let Absol out of her Pokéball so she could stretch. "You know its strange Absol. I've only been away from home for a few days, and so much has happened… It feels like forever." She let out an understanding purr and lay down next to him.

And there they lay for sixteen minutes precisely, enjoying letting the soft tickle of the wind soothe their aching feet and counter act the sun which had broken free of its wispy shackles and had now begun to beat down heavily on the two partners. Will's moments of bliss were disturbed by Absol's rasp tongue nursing the small cut on his left arm she had made when she landed on him. This made the teen grin, and he stroked her fine hair with his other hand. "Absol, these must be the moments people live for. The moments when a Pokémon and her trainer feel completely connected." He kissed the onyx gem on her forehead and struggled to his feet. 'I've been sat down for far too long' he chuckled to himself as he stretched himself off.

They wandered the city for a while, occasionally stopping so that Will could shout more abuse at the map that had gotten them lost in the first place. He was starting to think that it was some sort of joke map. So he decided to let Absol take charge. Following her nose, they eventually came to the Pokémon centre. The automatic aqua-blue doors slid open and revealed a rather grand looking facility. The carpet was soft an immaculate and was hued with a golden colour. At the desk on the far side, a man was talking to Nurse Joy. Her Blissey was singing to itself sweetly, and all of a sudden a feeling washed over Will. He felt totally and completely relaxed. This place felt like a home. Will slowly paced to the desk at which Nurse Joy and the gentleman were conferring.

"Excuse me," the man at the desk had turned around to talk to the young man. Upon closer inspection, the man's hair was shabby and his face was matted with a long stubble. He had large, dark circles under his eyes and he stood about 6 foot 3 inches tall. He was wearing a lab coat and carrying a brief case. "Would you do me a favour?" He asked in a friendly tone. "Oh, where are my manners, I apologise." He held out a hand. Will shook it hesitantly. "My name is Professor Birch. I'm the certified Pokémon authority for the region of Hoenn. Do you mind if I ask you some questions." He turned his head to an empty table in the corner of the Pokémon centre. The young man had most definitely heard of Professor Birch, introductions were barely even necessary from the moment he had turned around.

Will and Absol followed behind the prestigious professor, and Will parked himself on one of the cushioned chairs, while Absol rested her tired legs and lay next to him. "My name is William by the way. I'm from Fortree City. Please to meet you." He nodded at the professor, smiling.

"Well, it's nice to meet you William. I have a few questions for me. First of all, how long have you been travelling with Pokémon?" He glanced briefly at Absol then reverted his gaze back to the teenager.

"Oh, only for three or four days. I'm just starting out you see… I'm heading to Rustboro town next in hopes of challenging Roxanne…" The rugged man's expression seemed to erupt with glee at this statement.

"That is wonderful!" He said in a warm tone of voice. "Now, I have a request for you." He pulled the brief case from out under the table and placed it in front of Will. He popped it open and placed a Pokéball in front of him. "I have recently just donated two of my three rarest Pokémon to my neighbour and my daughter. So I am just wondering, I know there's not much choice involved in terms of Pokémon but… would you raise this Grovyle for me?"

The young man was now completely dumbfounded. Why would this famous researcher just offer a Pokémon out in front of him? There had to be a catch.

"I would like you to do this for me, and I want you to send me text messages every now and then just to let me know of its progress. You see, it's extremely _timid,_" He emphasised this, "and the poor thing just refuses to come out of its shell to me, so to speak." The rugged man paused. "Would you just release it from its Pokéball and see how it reacts?

Will stood up and lifted the Pokéball off the oak table. He pushed the button release and the lid opened. Following that, a white light flooded the room. The white light formed the shape of a fairly curious reptile. It stood about three feet tall was green all over, except for a stripe of red that ran from the tip of its bottom lip to abdomen. It had leaves growing out its body in several places; three from each lower arm and two from each foreleg. Its eyes were completely yellow barring a black iris that looked like a dark slit. It growled slightly, staring curiously at the being who had just released it from the safe haven of its capsule. It took a few cautious steps towards him, its sharp eyes locked with the young man's. Will knelt down slightly so he was down to the Grovyl's level. "Hello little guy, it's nice to meet you!" Will smiled sweetly at the young reptile. This action was retaliated with the cold-blooded lizard jumping onto him and wrapping its arms around him. 'Groooovyle' it let out, slowly, contently.

"I think I've got a nickname for you girl," Will said. He'd sussed that it was female almost straight away through information provided to him from Lucy during their many years of friendship; male Grovyle were almost indefinitely quick tempered, adamant, violent. This Grovyle was docile and timid. "Shylo, I'm going to call you Shylo." He laughed, feeling completely comfortable with the evolved Gecko clinging to his waist. Absol had also padded over, and she licked her new partner.

"I think its safe to assume that you'll do this for me. I've left my business card on the table so you'll have my number, and I've paid for you to spend the night here. I wish you all the best with your adventure, and I hope that you, Absol and Grovy- I mean, Shylo, have a great time together." The professor seemed extremely happy with the result. He left with a grin reaching from ear to ear.

What a day this had turned out to be.


End file.
